May 15, 2010

if not a car, you can eat it

just kidding, croats enjoy eating, especially togehter with friends.
anything from nature, growing, walking, flying or swimming that looks like food is welcome.
and being springtime, the young vegetables are excellent company for some fish, meat or snails, often from the grill, sometimes in a juga (soup).

this season is the best to taste a young sheep (janjetine) from the grill.
fresh springonions, salade, bread and domaci wine, and most important: FRIENDS.

I was invited to party with the neighbours (the men !!!), so a young sheep was turning around over a fresh woodfire for about three hours, untill it was excellent food for a group of about twelve men.

gathered around the table we spent a great meal together, accompanied with local wine, until the first songs were sang.

the only croat that does not sing is a dead croat, so each and every moment they sing.
working in the fields, sitting together over a well deserved cold beer, after dinner, you name it, they sing.
"klapa", the croat singing tradition goes far back into history, and hundreds (thousands ?) of songs are an important part of cultural tradition.

many songs are shared, known and joined by each and everyone, recent ones, older ones and to my surprise (what do I know of it all) from various parts of former Yougoslavia, and even from far back from history.
especially those golden oldies, sang by older men of women, I like very much, as they are pure and unpolished.

this afternoon , standing onder a cherrytree, after an excellent meal, the singing went on and on and on, and when moved to the local cafe of Mali Ante, it went on till late in the night.
(somewhere later in the evening I decided to quit, as to me enough (drinks) is enough).

thanks folks, you're a great bunch !!!
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